Romance at the Water Cooler
by Raven the Evil Senshi
Summary: We all know that Percy got a job after PoA and the summer of GoF. Why does he like to stay at the office forever? Why is he obessed with his work? This is a story about Percy, Mr. Crouch and the romance that blossoms.(P/C)
1. Default Chapter

AN: Hello! First time poster at FF.net. Anyway feedback is loved, flames  
are not. Odd pairing I know, but it has substanical evidence in it.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am not making any money off of this.  
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling and other important people. If you want to sue,  
all you'll get is a cookie.   
  
  
  
The summer season promised sunny days, and clear blue skies. On this day   
however, it was neither sunny nor clear. The skies were covered with a gray blanket   
which seemed to stretch for miles. Rain began to fall, drizzling at first, then falling at a   
steady pace.   
  
"Great," Percy Weasley mumbled to himself. "What a lovely day." Percy   
Apparated, but did not get to the building he was supposed to. Instead, he wound up a   
few yards away from the building. He swore silently to himself, for such bad aiming.   
  
Percy graduated less than a month ago from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and   
Wizardry. He was top in his class, being Prefect his 5th and 6th years. He then went on to   
become Head Boy in his 7th year. Percy graduated with the best marks in 50 years.   
  
The building he was headed for, was the Ministry of Magic. Percy continued to   
walk up the rain slick hill.  
  
The job Percy was after, was one in the Department of Magical Cooperation.   
Why? He couldn't really answer that question. Maybe it was he wanted to work for Mr.   
Barty Crouch. He has heard many stories about that man. How he was a stickler for rules,   
and took everything he did very seriously. Percy loved people like that. He was ready to   
work with someone who insisted on following the rules.  
  
"I'd be caught dead working for Bagman," Percy thought to himself. He didn't   
like people that carefree and lazy. He was glad when he got turned down for a position at   
the Department of Magical Games and Sports.   
  
The building appeared to be a normal office work place, at least to the muggles.   
To magic folk, it was a large space, housing the Ministry of Magic. To the normal eye it   
is a small office, too small for headquarters of any nature. Once you stepped inside, it   
was a different story. Here, the offices weren't very large, but they were able to hold the   
whole Ministry. It's amazing what the magic world can do with such little space.   
  
Once he reached the building, Percy tried to open the door. He then remembered   
it was locked, and took out his wand. He tapped the handle twice, and the door allowed   
him entrance. He quickly walked in, not wanting to get any more wetter.  
  
"Hello Mr. Wealsey," The cheery voice of Mr. Crouch's secretary, Ms. Dimitrova   
greeted. Percy shivered being wet from the rain. He grimaced as he ran a hand through   
his hair. The gel he used, was becoming very gooey due to the rain.   
  
"Hello," Percy greeted back, but with not as much cheerfulness. "Is Mr. Crouch   
ready?" He pulled out something from his pocket, which was a few pieces of parchment.   
  
"He'll see you in a few moments, Mr. Weasley. Feel free to have a seat as you   
wait." Percy did, choosing to seat near Mr. Crouch's door. He was looking at the   
parchments, which he called his resume. When, in all actuality, it wasn't. The papers   
were just test scores that he has received from Hogwarts.   
  
Percy's outward appearance was normal for him. He let his hair grow out, which   
he had neatly tied back. The ponytail fell at the base of his neck. His robes were black,   
neatly pressed, and new. Molly had insisted on buying them for his first job interview.   
Percy's black frames were perched delicately on his nose.   
  
Inwardly, Percy was feeling very queasy. Every time he heard the sound of a door   
open, Percy would automatically sit up straight. His insides were in knots, and his   
stomach still managed to do back flips. Percy tried his best not to fidget in his chair.   
  
"Mr. Weasley," Ms. Dimitrova said, causing Percy to jump. He cursed himself for   
being on the edge like that. "Mr. Crouch is ready to see you now."  
  
Percy nodded, took a breath, and opened the door to Mr. Crouch's office. 


	2. 2

Disclaimer: This story is based on character and situations created and owned by   
JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,   
Scholastic Books, and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made   
and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
Author's Note: Chapter 1 was bad, but I promise 2 is better. Feedback is loved,   
flames are not. I wasn't sure how many O.W.L.s Percy got. I remembered something about 21.  
If anyone remembers, please let me know, thank you! ^_^  
  
  
  
Percy nervously turned the handle, and walked into the office. His heart was   
pounding in his chest, causing his ears to ring. He barely heard Mr. Crouch's command.   
  
"Have a seat Mr. Weasley," Mr. Crouch said. Percy, still feeling queasy, nodded   
mutely and sat down. The man known as Mr. Crouch stared at Percy.  
  
He had slowly graying hair that appeared to be brown in his younger days. His   
eyes were ice blue, and seemed very cold. Mr. Crouch had no readable emotion on his   
face. He stared at Percy, like he was calculating him.   
  
"I thought you might want these," Percy said, fighting the urge to stutter. Percy   
knew what he said wasn't in his voice. Instead of Percy's normal low baritone voice, it   
rose up an octave.   
  
Percy handed the papers to Mr. Crouch, and their hands briefly touched. This sent   
a chill down Percy's spine. It was a new sensation, one Percy has never experienced.   
Percy wished to touch his hand again, until he mentally scolded himself for thinking such   
thoughts.   
  
"So you graduated last year." It wasn't a question. Percy nodded as Mr. Crouch   
read over the papers. Mr. Crouch's eyes lingered on Percy's O.W.L scores.  
  
"21," Mr. Crouch said in his monotone voice. "The best scores in fifty years they   
say." The back of his neck, and tops of Percy's ears turned red at Mr. Crouch's   
compliments.   
  
"You seem well qualified." Mr. Crouch continued, giving Percy hope. "Tell me,   
why should I hire you? Why should I hire someone right out of Hogwarts? Why not hire   
an older, more experienced witch or wizard?" Percy stiffened at the last sentence.   
  
"I feel I'm very well qualified," Percy said, finding his normal voice again. "As   
you can see, I received a very good education. I was a prefect my 5th and 6th years. I was a   
Head Boy in my last year. I feel I have very good leadership skills. I know that I'm very   
qualified for the workplace."  
  
After Percy's speech, Mr. Crouch stared at him again. He kept looking in Percy's   
eyes, like he was looking for something. Percy became very uncomfortable under this   
supervision. Mr. Crouch must have sensed it, as he looked down at a piece of parchment,   
turning his eyesight away.  
  
"I shall get to you at a later date," Mr. Crouch said, his eyes not leaving the   
parchment. "Ms. Dimitrova will see you out." Percy taking this as a hint to leave, got   
up and left the office.   
  
Percy made sure to close the door behind him, not wanting to upset Mr. Crouch.   
Percy stared at the office door, hoping to keep that hand touch in him memory forever.   
He absentmindedly ran a finger over the hand that Mr. Crouch touched.   
  
"Um, Mr. Weasley?" Ms. Dimitrova spoke, causing Percy to come back to reality.   
Percy glanced up at the woman. "You don't have to stick around. You may leave if you   
wish." She gave Percy a funny look, but dared not to question.   
  
"Please contact me once Mr. Crouch has made a decision." Was the last thing   
Percy said, before leaving.  
  
What he didn't know, was Barty(Mr. Crouch) was watching him. From his office   
window, he watched as Percy held out his wand, and disappeared with a soft pop.  
  
Barty's eyes lingered on the spot Percy was standing at. He sighed, as he sat   
back down, and began writing a report. 


	3. 3

AN: Yay, I got reviews! ::blushes:: I'm so happy! Kind words do go along way. Remember, I will send one of Charlie's dragons after you if you flame me. Better yet, I'll make you read and write an essay on Percy's cauldron bottom thickness essay.  
  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
  
  
The weather turned for the better after the job interview. The clouds dissipated, and the clear, sunny skies reigned. Even though there wasn't a cloud to be seen for miles, it was rather windy. Every now and again, a large gust of wind would rattle the windows and doors. Especially on Mr. Percy Weasley's window.  
  
Percy was asleep, his normally kept up hair was down, it grazed the top of his  
  
shoulders. He was lightly snoring, causing some of his bangs to fly up. A light rapping at his window, due to Hermes, woke him up.  
  
Percy stumbled, as he put on his glasses at looked around for the noise. Another soft tapping, and Percy looked out his window. He was only dressed in boxers. Red ones with the word Royal written in silver on the bottom left side, to be exact. He yawned, and went over to the window.  
  
"Hermes," Percy said, as he opened the window. The wind was very gusty today, and dead leaves blew into Percy's room. He took the letter out of Hermes' beak, and shut the window.  
  
The envelope was written in blue ink, and was from the Ministry, The Department of Magical Cooperation. Percy carefully opened the envelope, not wanting to damage the letter inside.  
  
"Dear Mr. P. Weasley," the letter read. "Mr. Crouch has made his decision, wishing to see you hear at 9:00 am. Signed, Ms. Dimitrova."  
  
Percy yawned again, and put the letter on his night stand. His stomach became twisted again, in fear of not getting the job.  
  
"I better get ready anyway," Percy mumbled to himself. He got in the bathroom, and turned on the shower. The warm water caused Percy's glasses to fog up. He took them off, along with his article of clothing. He got in, letting the warm water slowly wake him up. (AN: I don't think that paragraph had anything to do with the plot. I did it for the drooling fans. lol)  
  
After he got out, he wrapped a towel around his waist. He went over to his closet, and pulled out a fairly new black robes. Of course they were neatly pressed, not a crease in sight.  
  
"Note to self: I need new clothes," Percy thought to himself out loud. He tied back his hair, and then put on shoes. He then closed his bedroom door, and walked down the stairs. He was surprised to see his mother already up.  
  
"Morning Mum," Percy greeted. "I got an owl from the Ministry today." Molly stopped cooking, and turned her attention to her 3rd child.  
  
"What did it say?" Molly asked, with a note of excitement. Percy sat down at the breakfast table, as Molly gave him a plate of food.  
  
"It says I need to go down and speak with him," Percy said, in a very business like way. Molly stopped cooking and threw her arms around Percy.  
  
"I knew you could do it!" Molly exclaimed, kissing Percy on the cheek. Percy's ears turned red, as Molly let go. He then sat up straight, regaining his composure.  
  
"But I'm not sure, Mum if I got the job or not," Molly still smiled at her eldest son living at home. She than began to fix Percy's robes.  
  
"It's a good sign if they want to talk to you in person," Molly said, fussing over Percy's robes. "Please dear, do eat up." Molly then resumed back to cooking.  
  
After breakfast, Percy thanked his mother. (AN: Aw, momma's boy!) He pulled out his wand from his pocket. He held it out, and with a soft pop Apparated.  
  
Instead of appearing inside, Percy was at the main entrance. Another gust of wind blew by, before Percy could get inside. His hair came out of his pony tail, and whipped around his face. Percy quickly entered the building.  
  
"Hello again Mr. Weasley," A warm voice greeted Percy. The voice belonged to Ms. Dimitrova, Mr. Crouch's secretary.(AN: If you want to know what she looks like, here's a description: Dark brown hair to her shoulder blades, and dark brown eyes. She's just here to move the plot along.) Percy shook his head, causing the strands of hair to fall in his face.  
  
"Good Morning," Percy greeted back. "I hate to ask this, but do you have a mirror?" Ms. Dimitrova thought for a moment, then began rummaging through her desk. She pulled out a small, hand held mirror.  
  
"Thanks," Percy said as he took the mirror. He sighed rather loudly when he saw his reflection. His hair was a tangled mess, due to the wind. Percy tied back his hair tightly, making sure no strand slipped out again. Except, two bangs refused to cooperate, and stayed in his face.  
  
"Oh, hello Mr. Crouch," Ms. Dimitrova's voice caused Percy to jump. With the mirror still in his hand, Percy spun around. He felt stupid as he looked at none other than Mr. Crouch.  
  
Mr. Crouch was about Percy's height, maybe an inch or two taller. His ice blue eyes narrowed, showing distaste. A small blush of embarrassment crept on to Percy's face.  
  
"I'm ready when you're done, Mr. Wealsey," Mr. Crouch said, rather coldly. Percy swore to himself, for being so vain. He returned the mirror to Ms. Dimitrova before going to Mr. Crouch's office.  
  
Percy took in a breath and walked into the office, closing the door behind him. 


End file.
